Rotary bending machine



March 17, 1964 M. LUBow ROTARY BENDING MACHINE Filed July 19, 1961 FIG. I

oooolo 68 i@ Fles 6533@ FIG 9 5w @ac-fm AGENT United States Patent 3,125,150 RGTARY BENDHNG MACHINE Myron Luhow, 4 Washington Square Village, New York, NX. Filed .Iuly 19, 1961, Ser. No. 125,143 2 Claims. (Cl. 153-19) This invention relates in general to wire and metal working machinery and, more particularly, to rotary bending machines.

An object of this invention is to provide a less expensive rotary bending machine which is more rugged and serviceable in operation.

Another object of this invention is to provide a more precise, versatile, and easily set up rotary bending machine.

A further object of this invention is to provide a rotary bending machine which may be rapidly and easily indexed to a number of starting positions.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a rotary bending machine which has a rotary mounting plate set flush within a table surface and which provides for a depth adjustment of the rotary mounting plate relative to the table surface.

Many other objects, advantages and features of invention reside in the construction, arrangement and combination of parts involved in the embodiment of the invention and its practice as will be understood from the following description and accompanying drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical longitudinal section taken from the rear through my rotary bending machine;

FIGURE 2 is an end View of the bending machine;

FIGURE 3 is a top view of the bending machine;

FGURE 4 is a vertical longitudinal section through a fragment of the bending machine table and the rotary mounting plate showing a portion of the rotary mounting plate drive construction;

FTGURE 5 is a vertical section taken on line 5-5 of VFIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a. side view of a bending fixture which may be used in conjunction with my invention;

FIGURE 7 is a rear View of the bending xture shown in FIGURE 6 with the adjustment nut removed;

FGURE 8 is a top View of a holding fixture which may be used in conjunction with my invention;

FIGURE 9 is an end view of the holding fixture shown in FIGURE 8; and

FIGURE l0 is a top view of a fragment of the rotary bending machine table top showing an already bent workpiece held by two holding fixtures and being further bent by the rotation of the rotary mounting plate.

Referring to the drawing in detail, FIGURES l, 2 and 3 show the heavy steel table top 11 which is supported by the two end legs 12 and 13. Longitudinal side braces 14 of heavy gauge metal extend between the side tianges 15 of the legs 12 and 13. The tops of the legs 12 and 13 and the side flanges 14 are welded or otherwise secured to the steel table top 11 to increase its rigidity.

Referring now to FIGURES l, 4 and 5, a rotary mounting plate 16 is secured within an aperture 17 in table top 11 in the following manner. As shown in FIGURE 4, an upper plate 18 has four small mounting anges 19 welded to its upper surface to extend beyond it. The mounting flanges 19 are secured to the under surface of table top 11 by the bolts 20 or any other suitable means. A lower plate 21 is positioned below upper plate 18 and held a spaced distance from it by the four positioning strips 22 which are each welded to the sides of both the upper plate 18 and the lower plate 21. An upper roller bearing 23 is pressed into or otherwise seated within a centrally located aperture in upper plate 18. In a like manner, another roller bearing 214 is iixed within an aper- ICC ture in lower plate 21. Shaft 25 extends With slight clearance through the roller bearings 23 and 24 so that it may slide longitudinally relative to the roller bearings 23 and 24.

A spur gear 26 is fixed to shaft 25 between the plates 18 and 21. A driver plate 27 is fixed on top of shaft 25. The rotary mounting plate 16 is then secured to the driver plate 27 by means of the screws 28 or vother suitable means. Fixed below and to the lower plate 21 is the adjustment support member 29. The adjustment support member 29 contains a threaded aperture directly below the lower end of shaft 25. An adjustment bolt 30 is turned upward into the adjustment support member 29. A steel ball 31 is forced upward by the adjustment bolt 30 until it supports the lower end of shaft 25. Therefore, by turning adjustment bolt 30, the rotary mounting plate 16 may be positioned flush with the top surface of table 11 or allowed to move slightly below it.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, a two-position air cylinder 32 is pivotally secured by one end in a horizontal plane from the downward extension 33 of table top 11. A rack gear 34 extends from the air cylinder 32 between the upper and lower plates 18 and 21.

As further shown in FIGURE 1, a bi-directional foot Valve 35 is connected to each end of the air cylinder 32 by means of the air lines 36 and 37. An air supply (not shown) is connected to the moisture trap 38. Moisture trap 38 is supported by a rod 39 which is xed to leg 12. Air line 4t) extends between moisture trap 38 and the foot valve 35 so that the bi-directional foot valve 35 may be manipulated to activate air cylinder 32 to extend or withdraw the rack gear 34.

Referring further to FIGURE 1, two angle irons 41 extend between the side iianges of the legs 12 and 13 to further brace them. A small storage shelf 42 extends between the angle irons 41 so that the valve 35 may be placed upon it when the bending machine is not in use.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 and 5, the rack gear 34 is held in engagement with the spur gear 26 by means of a back-up roller 43. The back-up roller 43 may have a larger lower flange 44 on which the rack gear 34 rests. A shaft 45 extends between the upper and lower plates 18 and 21 and has the back-up roller 43 rotatably mounted on it. The shaft 45 has a lower rearwardly bent end 46. Shaft 45 extends through the plates 18 and 21 with sufficient clearance so that it may be drawn downwards by means of the bent end 46 to remove the back-up roller 43. A locking bolt 47 is turned into plate 21 to engage shaft 45 and secure or lock it in place within plates 18 and 21.

Therefore, should it become desirable to index the rotary mounting plate 16, locking bolt 47 would be backed olf and shaft 45 removed by means of its bent portion 46. This would free the back-up roller 43 so that t-he rack gear 34 could be disengaged from spur `gear 26 allowing it to be rotated with the mounting plate 16 into a desired position. Then rack gear 34 could again be engaged with spur gear 26 and the back-up roller 43 again secured in position. It is to allow rack gear 34 to be moved away lfrom spur gear 26 that the air cylinder 32 is pivotally mounted on projection 33.

As shown i-n FIGURES l, 2 and 3, a stop plate 48 is pivotally secured by its lower end to leg 12. Turned into the stop plate 48 are the two lthreaded stop shafts 49 and 50 having the heads 51 `and 52. A downward projection 53 extends from the under surface of table top 11 to prevent stop plate 48 from bein-g forced outward away from leg 12. The threaded stop` shafts 49 and 50 pass through a large slot in leg 12. By alternately moving stop plate 48 from one side to the other or from front to back of the machine, either stop shaft 49 or stop shaft 5t? may be placed beyond the end of rack gear 34. There` fore, the stop shafts 49 and 5'0 may be used to limit the outward movement of rack gear 34 and 'thus be set to predetermine the degrees of notation of the rotary mounting plate 16. The two stop shafts 49 `and 50 enable two bends of different degrees to be made without resetting the machine except for the simple operation of shifting of position of the stop plate 48.

Referring now to FIGURES 6 and 7, a bending fixture or wire back-up consists of la central block 6@ which oontains a longitudinal groove in its lower surface through which there extends a slide 6l. A disk 6?, is welded on stop lof the end of slide 61 and projects beyond it. A bending fixture 63 has a pin 64 extending upward from it. Pin 64 extends through an aperture in disk 62 to secure it in position. Extending rearwardly and welded to block 6i) is lthe threaded shaft 65 carrying the adjustment nut 66. Thus the bending fixture 63 may be urged forward relative 4to block 60 by turning nut 66 along the shaft 65 to urge the slide 61 through the block 6l). This wire back-up structure enjoys the advantage that bending fixture 63 is firmly held even at the limits of the adjustment of slide 61 within block 66.

yReferring now to FIGURES 8 and 9, a simple holding fixture consists of a short length of angle iron 68 having a plate 69 |weld-ed flush at one end to extend slightly beyond it. Bollts or other suitable fastening means may pass through the apertures 70` to secure rtlre holding fixture.

Referring now to FIGURE 3, it may be seen that a number of spaced apertures 71 are drilled and tapped in the table top 11 so that the bending and holding fixtures may be secured to it. The rotary mounting pl-ate 16 also contains apertures 73 spaced at varying distances from a central aperture 74. A pin or a bending fixture 63 may be inserted [directly Within the central aperture 74 or the entire wire back-up shown in FIGURES 6 and 7 may be fixed to table l1 tto position the bending fixture 63 over the center lof the rotary mounting plate 16. As shown in FIGURE 10, the holding fixtures 68 may be positioned on marble 11 tov secure a workpiece. A pin 75 may be placed within an aperture 73` so that platte .16 may be rotated by air cylinder 3,2; to cause pin 75 to bend a workpiece 77. By properly setting the threaded stops 4-9.v and 50, the degree of bend of workpiece 77 may be accurately controlled.

When a relatively large workpiece 77 is bent about a small radius, the material of the workpiece in the area of the bend distorts and thickens in a direction parallel to the axis of the bend. As shown in FIGURE '10, workpiece 77 would vertically thicken in the area of the bend. This distortion of the metal of the workpiece causes it to rise upward from the rotary mounting plate and distorts the plane of the bend correspondingly. This invention, which enables the rotary mounting plate 16 to be positioned beneath 'the top surface of the table 11, enables an operator to anticipate the thickening of the 'workpiece for a given bend and adjust the rotary mounting plate accordingly below the surface of table 11 so that the plane of the bend is not distorted.

While I have disclosed my invention in the best form known to me, it will nevertheless be understood that this is purely exemplary and that modifications in the con- 4 struction, arrangement and combination of parts and the substitution of equivalents mechanically and otherwise may be made Without departing from the spirit of the invention except as it may be more limited in the appended claims wherein I claim:

1. A rotary bending machine comprising, in combination, a heavy metal table top containing a large circular aperture, workpiece holding means fixed on said table top, longiutdinal side braces extending along and fixed beneath the sides of said table top, an air cylinder having a piston and being attached beneath one end of said table top, means activating the piston of said air cylinder, a rack gear extended and retracted upon the activation of the piston of said air cylinder, an upper plate fixed below the large aperture -in said table top, a lower plate fixed a spaced distance below said upper plate, a vertical shaft slidably journaled in said upper and lower plates, a spur gear fixed to said shaft between said upper and lower plates, a rotary mounting plate fixed to the upper end of said shaft within the large aperture in said table top, an adjustment support member fixed below said lower plate, an adjustment screw turned upwards into said adjustment support member supporting the lower end of said ventical shaft, said adjustment screw positioning said rotary mounting plate a desired distance beneath said table top, said rack gear engaging said spur gear to rotate said rotary mounting plate, a bending fixture se- -cured `over the center of said rotary mounting plate, a pin extending upward from said rotary mounting plate beside said bending fixture, stop means beyond the end of said rack gear limting its lateral motion away from said cylinder, a second vertical shaft extending through said upper and lower plates, means holding said second vertical shaft within said upper and lower plates, and a backup roller mounted on said second vertical shaft and bearing Iagainst the back of said rack gear holding said rack gear in engagement with said spur gear, said second vertical shaft and said back-up roller being removable allowing said spur gear and said rotary mounting plate to be rotated relative to said rack to index said rotary mounting plate.

2. The combination according to claim 1 with the addition of two support legs extending downward from each end of said table top, said support leg disposed at the end of said table top remote from said air cylinder containing a horizontal slot, and wherein said stop means comprises =a stop plate pivotally secured by its lower end to said support leg disposed opposite said air cylinder, two threaded rods threaded side by side through said stop plate and extending through the horizontal slot in said suport leg disposed opposite said air cylinder, and a head on each threaded rod to turn said threaded rod through said stop plate, said stop plate being laterally pivotable to selectively position one of said threaded stops beyond the end of said rack gear.

Wagenbach Sept. 29, 1936 Lyons Aug. 30, 1938 

1. A ROTARY BENDING MACHINE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A HEAVY METAL TABLE TOP CONTAINING A LARGE CIRCULAR APERTURE, WORKPIECE HOLDING MEANS FIXED ON SAID TABLE TOP, LONGITUDINAL SIDE BRACES EXTENDING ALONG AND FIXED BENEATH THE SIDES OF SAID TABLE TOP, AN AIR CYLINDER HAVING A PISTON AND BEING ATTACHED BENEATH ONE END OF SAID TABLE TOP, MEANS ACTIVATING THE PISTON OF SAID AIR CYLINDER, A RACK GEAR EXTENDED AND RETRACTED UPON THE ACTIVATION OF THE PISTON OF SAID AIR CYLINDER, AN UPPER PLATE FIXED BELOW THE LARGE APERTURE IN SAID TABLE TOP, A LOWER PLATE FIXED A SPACED DISTANCE BELOW SAID UPPER PLATE, A VERTICAL SHAFT SLIDABLY JOURNALED IN SAID UPPER AND LOWER PLATES, A SPUR GEAR FIXED TO SAID SHAFT BETWEEN SAID UPPER AND LOWER PLATES, A ROTARY MOUNTING PLATE FIXED TO THE UPPER END OF SAID SHAFT WITHIN THE LARGE APERTURE IN SAID TABLE TOP, AN ADJUSTMENT SUPPORT MEMBER FIXED BELOW SAID LOWER PLATE, AN ADJUSTMENT SCREW TURNED UPWARDS INTO SAID ADJUSTMENT SUPPORT MEMBER SUPPORTING THE LOWER END OF SAID VERTICAL SHAFT, SAID ADJUSTMENT SCREW POSITIONING SAID ROTARY MOUNTING PLATE A DESIRED DISTANCE BENEATH SAID TABLE TOP, SAID RACK GEAR ENGAGING SAID SPUR GEAR TO ROTATE SAID ROTARY MOUNTING PLATE, A BENDING FIXTURE SECURED OVER THE CENTER OF SAID ROTARY MOUNTING PLATE, A PIN EXTENDING UPWARD FROM SAID ROTARY MOUNTING PLATE BESIDE SAID BENDING FIXTURE, STOP MEANS BEYOND THE END OF SAID RACK GEAR LIMITING ITS LATERAL MOTION AWAY FROM SAID CYLINDER, A SECOND VERTICAL SHAFT EXTENDING THROUGH SAID UPPER AND LOWER PLATES, MEANS HOLDING SAID SECOND VERTICAL SHAFT WITHIN SAID UPPER AND LOWER PLATES, AND A BACKUP ROLLER MOUNTED ON SAID SECOND VERTICAL SHAFT AND BEARING AGAINST THE BACK OF SAID RACK GEAR HOLDING SAID RACK GEAR IN ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID SPUR GEAR, SAID SECOND VERTICAL SHAFT AND SAID BACK-UP ROLLER BEING REMOVABLE ALLOWING SAID SPUR GEAR AND SAID ROTARY MOUNTING PLATE TO BE ROTATED RELATIVE TO SAID RACK TO INDEX SAID ROTARY MOUNTING PLATE. 